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NASB | John 2:13 ¶ The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 2:13 ¶ Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
Bible Question: what do you think of the idea of selling items e.g hotdogs, cake e.t.c for, for instance, youth fund-raising in the church building. is this not what Jesus rebuked against in the temple where he found people selling their merchandise? |
Bible Answer: I’m going out on a limb here to disagree with a practice that is becoming common in many churches in America today. That practice is selling food in the church. I believe this is wrong for many reasons. From most important to least important: 1. The true purpose of a church service is to worship God as a family of believers. The service is FOR GOD, not for people. When churches put on elaborate entertainments, and let people bring popcorn into the sanctuary, they are profaning a holy place and turning a worship service into just a show. 2. The Bible warns us as Christians to not only avoid evil, but even the appearance of evil. Even if the proceeds of the sale of food does go into the Mission Fund or whatever, many people (especially visitors) will not know that. With all of the scandals that have been so publicized about Christian ministries embezelling large amounts of money for their own personal gain, it would be very easy for them to jump to some wrong conclusions. 3. The food will cause division within the church. There will be some who think it is wrong and others who will think it is right. There will be some who buy it and are satisfied, and others who will not have the money and will be hungry and envious. There will be some who are honest and turn in all the money, and others who will give in to temptation and will keep some for themselves. There will be some who will try to pay attention to the service, and there will be others who will be crinkling the wrapping, or crunching the chips, and making it difficult for those around to focus. 4. It’s good for us all to be able to spend a few hours once a week focusing on God, instead of our stomachs. 5. There’s six other days in the week, when you could have a bake sale out in the parking lot, to raise money. |